2025 has been quite a year for content—and let's just say, I've consumed a lot of it. I took in some of the best Broadway shows, watched countless new TV shows from start to finish, streamed dozens of movies at home and even caught a fair amount in theaters.
But one title has stuck with me through it all, at least since I first saw it back in April. My favorite movie of the year—which I'll confidently call the best movie of the year—is Sinners from filmmaking genius Ryan Coogler.
First of all, the cast of this movie is incredible. Michael B. Jordan plays a pair of brothers, Stack and Smoke, who return to Mississippi to open a juke joint. He's joined on screen by Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku (who was seriously snubbed by the Golden Globes), Miles Caton and more. The performances are deep, layered, nuanced and moving.
Jordan, in particular, makes you laugh one minute, terrifies you the next and then breaks your heart the moment after. The man is nominated for an acting Golden Globe, and I'd be very surprised if he didn't take home the trophy, along with a subsequent Oscar.
In my colleague's review of the film, she wrote, "I feel confident saying that this is Jordan's best role to date... Playing a dual role is the ultimate of an actor's prowess...not an easy task by any means, but one Jordan does with ease."
The film is beautifully crafted by director Coogler. What initially feels like a period drama quickly takes a genre-bending turn with a series of tense and thrilling twists that truly kept me on the edge of my seat. Sinners is a movie about race, racism and racial tensions. But it's also about history, horror, family, love and redemption. (Keep an eye out for Coogler in the Best Director and Best Picture categories this awards season.)
Obviously, I'm not alone in considering Sinners to be the best film of the year. It debuted to a whopping 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and has since settled at a near-perfect 97 percent).
It's rare for such a piece of effective and iconic art to also be a success at the box office, but Sinners was a huge financial hit. The film surpassed $350 million worldwide (on just a $90 million budget). But perhaps this shouldn't be such a big surprise, as Coogler has pulled this off before with critical darlings-turned-box-office-hits Black Panther (also starring Jordan) and Wakanda Forever.
In the runners-up category for best film of the year, Weapons, Wicked: For Good and even smash animated movie KPop Demon Hunters made a respectable showing. But 2025 fully belongs to Coogler, Jordan and Sinners, hands-down.
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